Our shops: Monkstown & Clare Street

"A leafy treasure trove... sells the things gardeners really want." Irish Times (on Monkstown)

"It was a delightful to discover Howbert & Mays's stunning new house and garden shop in the former Greene's bookshop, an historic building just off Merrion Square." The Shopkeepers (on Clare Street)

We have two beautiful shops: one in the seaside suburb of Monkstown, the other right in the heart of Dublin south city centre.

Our shops have thousands of items - mainly plants - most of which never make it to our website. So if you can visit our shops in person, please do.

MONKSTOWN: With indoor and outdoor plants being the key ingredient, there is much else besides. Primarily, Monkstown is a garden centre. Yes, it's small, especially when you compare it to the big out-of-town shops that sell everything from pet food to barbeques. On the other hand, we see our compact size as one of our strengths. We have deliveries of plants every few days, so our plants are fresh and healthy. We have discerning, plant-loving customers who challenge us to get unusual and beautiful plants. We support small and specialist nurseries all over Ireland, so many of our plants are not what you'll see everywhere.

Aside from plants, we have great staff who can advise and answer your plant-related questions. We stock good quality garden tools, garden furniture, composts, nature-based feeds and fertilisers, St Eval candles, hundreds of indoor pots and containers, as well as an eclectic range of products that will make your home more beautiful and comfortable. You will find everything from a pot for your orchid or a painting for your wall, a set of garden furniture to a finely made pair of secateurs.

We only stock what we would want in our own home and garden. Plants that we know will flourish and thrive in Irish gardens, many of them grown in small, specialist Irish nurseries. Tools that are well made, pleasurable to use and designed to last a lifetime. Composts and fertilisers that are naturally-based and will feed the soil as well as your plants. Garden furniture that is able to withstand the Irish climate and that is made to look good and be comfortable.

Opened in 2012, Monkstown is half indoors, half outdoors, in a former hire centre with big south-facing windows. The outdoor space has an high old granite wall and is filled with botanical delights. We're right by the sea, minutes from Salthill Dart station, busses on our doorstep and surrounded by cafes, restaurants and other great businesses. Monkstown itself - not just our shop - is worth a visit, whether for a swim in the sea, a walk around the beautiful residential squares, a bite to eat or a visit to some of the shops.

CLARE STREET: We opened our Clare Street shop right in the middle of the pandemic in December 2020. No sooner did we open than we had to close for six months. Housed in the venerable former Greene's bookshop on Clare Street, right in the heart of Georgian Dublin, located between Trinity College, the National Gallery and Merrion Square.

Our shop covers two floors, filled with indoor plants, pots, paintings, textiles, tableware and much more. With high ceilings, tall windows and a beautiful staircase, we have tried to create an atmospheric and enjoyable shopping experience, respecting the architecture and atmosphere of this special building. It's a place that has been a shop for close to two hundred years, of which Greene's Bookshop was the longest resident. It's a place that was visited by James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney. It is just across the road from Oscar Wildes's old home and it's where generations of students and school children bought their textbooks.

Inside, our shop appeals to the urban plant-lover, with weekly deliveries of indoor plants, pots, composts and gardening accessories. Upstairs, we appeal to the discerning shopper looking for anything from a blanket to a cushion, a poster to an oil painting. Many of our artworks depict plants, landscapes and the natural world and are from Irish artists. Our textiles are made from recycled or natural fibres, and we stock brands such as Burel Factory, Bungalow of Denmark, AfroArt, Quote Copenhagen, Lapuan Kankurit of Finland and many others. We also have stock specialist gardening tools from Niwaki, deWit and Felco.